Republicans Are Mad They Got The Hunter Biden Special Counsel They Asked For
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Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) does not think much of the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel for the Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden, the president’s son.
Attorney General Merrick Garland “knows Weiss will protect Hunter,” Blackburn scoffed in a social media post on Saturday.
But Weiss’ appointment is exactly what she and other congressional Republicans requested. Special counsel is the same designation Garland gave Jack Smith, currently prosecuting former President Donald Trump.
Last September, a group of 31 Senate Republicans, including Blackburn, asked specifically for Weiss to be appointed to oversee the probe to “provide additional assurances to the American people that the Hunter Biden investigation is free from political influence.” Weiss had already led the investigation into his business dealings, which began under President Donald Trump.
Republicans on the House side sent a similar letter in April 2022, although they did not name Weiss specifically. Blackburn and two other Republican senators reiterated their request for a special counsel two months ago.
Now that they’ve gotten their wish, some are complaining.
This week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) slammed the appointment despite signing the letter last fall.
“This is a political decision by the Biden administration to fix their political problem. I think they poured gasoline on a political fire,” Graham told NewsNation.
He added: “Mr. Weiss’ team needs to be replaced with a new set of eyes.”
Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss as special counsel because he knows Weiss will protect Hunter.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) August 12, 2023
Sen. Chuck Grassley offered similar criticism while speaking with Fox News after acknowledging that he also had signed the letter last year.
“I have some questions about Weiss doing it,” Grassley said.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy suggested on social media that the appointment would be used to “whitewash the Biden family corruption.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) echoed those words in a statement to CNN: “David Weiss can’t be trusted, and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption.”
It’s worth noting that some Republicans — like former Vice President Mike Pence — have cheered the appointment, although they were less likely to do so openly, according to reporting by The New York Times.
Others appear to have soured on Weiss because he was the one who negotiated the plea deal with Biden that fell apart dramatically in court earlier this summer.
“If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?” McCarthy said in his post.
In late July, the president’s son walked into a federal courthouse where he was expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges as part of an arrangement with prosecutors to avoid a felony gun charge. But he pleaded not guilty after U.S. District Judge Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the language in the agreement. Republicans had reacted incredulously to news of the plea deal, claiming that Biden was being given preferential treatment.
Weiss’ appointment to special counsel signals the investigation may go to trial — potentially in a year when Joe Biden is running for reelection.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Lindsey Graham is from Georgia. He represents South Carolina.
